The just-released nominations list for the 66th annual Grammy Awards, to be held Feb.

4 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, promises awards show fans one thing: stereotype-transcending sartorial excellence. The singer-songwriter trio boygenius, up for six awards including album and record of the year, has a “menswear” game like no other; will the artistic throuple dust off the Western duds for its inevitable acceptance speech? Out-earning Bridgers-Dacus-Baker is the nine times nominated SZA, who adapted the sports-jersey-and-Timberlands look ’90s male rappers perfected on the cover of her R&B-ruling album SOS. Likewise, slow-burning newcomer Victoria Monet blurs binaries in the Missy Elliott-worshiping video for “On My Mama,” the hit that helped earn her seven Grammy nods. Add in pantsuit savant Brandy Clark (six nominations across three genres) and tux god Janelle Monaé (two including album of the year) — not to mention top contenders Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift, all of whom can tie a Windsor knot — and you have a slate that really sticks it to the old music-industry suits. In fact, the only male artist with multiple major nominations, Jon Batiste, defied formalwear norms in 2022 when he claimed his golden gramophones in a sparkling floor-length cape.

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This supposedly surface-level read of the year’s nominations reveals something more important than a huge pre-Grammys workload for the house of Armani. Declaring a sea change when it comes to gender equity in music is always risky; more often than not, a year of non-male dominance gives way to one in which Morgan Wallen rules everything. At least for now, though, that chart-annihilating country bro sits in the cheap seats with only one nomination, and country and hip-hop, historically hypermale genres, were overlooked in prime categories. What acknowledgment they did receive pointed firmly toward a new era, one in which Ice Spice’s flow earns true admiration and genre-flexible artists of color like Batiste and the best new artist noms the War and Treaty stand proud for Nashville and the rest of the rootsy South. That Latin music was shut out of the top categories, however, is inexplicable — showing a nearsightedness uncharacteristic of the year.

The lack of a male nominee likely to good-naturedly ruin things — lightning likely won’t strike twice for Batiste, and there’s no Silk Sonic to dance its way to the winner’s circle — indicates that the long-overdue shift toward a real acknowledgment of music that young women love. As expert trend spotter Stephen Thompson has noted below, the biggest sweep may go to the hotly debated avatar of change/no change: Barbie. Songs from the Greta Gerwig blockbuster’s soundtrack have a whopping eleven nominations across many categories, better this year than any artist on their own.

Despite the Barbie-world energy, in some ways this is the same old Grammy Awards. The nominations favor established industry favorites; aside from boygenius, even the youngest already have a shelf of awards at home. And in the categories honoring behind-the-scenes work like producer, songwriter and song of the year, men’s names still outnumber others. (Relevant: former NARAS head Neil Portnow is currently being sued for sexual assault, reflecting an incident that was allegedly covered up for years.) Will Music’s Biggest Night feel revolutionary, or like the same old insiders’ club night, simply with different faces up front? To understand what the Grammy nominations might say about music right now — and in the game spirit of making predictions — NPR Music’s critics scanned the nominations list and chose categories that reveal what will likely feel good, bad and impeccably well-tailored on that February night. —Ann Powers READ MORE